Photography, Social Media, and Lessons Learned
An open letter to photographers the world over…
Forgive me if this post is rather long, but I think it might prove useful to those who are willing to learn, who love photography, and utilize Social Media (Google+, 500pix, Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn, etc.) as an outlet for their work.
So hear it goes; an unfiltered, make-up free (not that I wear make up) look at what I’ve learned since my first real venture into social media back on March 13th, 2011 with some affirmations to boot.
Firstly I’ve learned that photographs are a dime a dozen. Anyone can take them. Photographers have never had to work so hard for their money as they have to now. Anyone with an eye for a shot (or anyone who just happens to get lucky) and a phone can take a photograph and instantly share it with the world. I don’t see this as a bad thing and I don’t secretly wish ill upon all those people posting their photos online. I think there is room for it (and that room will continue to get bigger and bigger as technology advances) and I think it challenges the photographer who is out there trying to make a living to hone our craft even more. I think it pushes us to produce a better image. I think it challenges us to be more innovative with our offerings. These are good things and have brought about good within the world of photography.
So let’s welcome those who are being enticed by the shutter bug and be willing to aid them in their journey to love the craft even more. Afterall, isn’t that what got you in the first place? The love of the capture?
Secondly I’ve learned that photographs alone don’t sell. Take a look on any social media. Do a search for landscapes. There are some beautiful photographs out there. How many have you looked at, thought were phenomenal, and clicked right on through to the next image? That’s right, 99.9999999999997%. I think if +Vivienne Gucwa has problems turning g+ popularlity of her prints and stories into sales, we probably all have the same alchemy problem. So, if photographs alone aren’t selling, what is? Two things: A name. This is the harder one to obtain. You either needed to be excellent at what you do, and in the business before the business became overly saturated; or someone had to of discovered you (that had a name already in the business) and decided to promote you and your work. The second option, you cater to all the people out there that are flirting with photography, enticing them to fall in love with the craft. So what does this involve you ask? Freebies. Tutorials. Plugins. Tips. Photoshop Actions. Workshops. You need to be a one stop resource that peddles knowledge to the photographers of tomorrow no matter how great, or less than stellar their photographs may be.
Now the second option above seems to be the way of the successful social media photographer in today’s photography landscape. They get to do what they love to do (travel, take photographs, enjoy breathtaking landscapes) with the caveat of having to teach, train, and provide for those looking to fall headfirst into photography and break through to the other side with more accolades than #anseladams . So, at the end of the day, the funding coming in is not so much from the photographs they sell, but from the creative ways in which they market their wares, and aid the up and comers of the photography world.
In addition what I just said, for someone to pull off the marketing of their wares, they have to be good with people. You can come up with a great workshop for up and comers, but if you can’t relate to your “clients” and come across as likable, you’re not going to be able make it. Remember, we live in a world where #twitter can cause the corporate giants of today’s world to retract policies and apologize for ever considering implementing changes whether good or bad. If social media can sway the decisions of corporations, how many tweets or posts do you think it will take to cast doubt on your wares?
Is this method a bad method? Is it selling out? I’m not saying that. I’m just observing a trend. And just to put all my cards on the table, I think it is beneficial and good like I stated in my opening paragraph. The more influx of photgraphs we have, the more creative and better we’ll have to be- a win-win situation. We get better at what we do, and if and when we do sell, the client gets a better product. And, the better we understand our own workflows, the better we can articulate it, the better we’ll be able to teach others and help them to grow in the maturation of their photography skillset. Again, win-win.
Thirdly I’ve learned that having “followers” doesn’t mean that you really have followers. Say what? Let me put it another way by sharing a real world example of this. When I reached 600 followers on g+ I thought that it would be a good time to offer up a free print of one of my landscapes. So, I posted to my stream and made it public that anyone who shared that particular post would be placed in a drawing for a free print of their choice from my collection of images. The result you ask? I had one person share it and about 3 people or so slap a plus one on it… out of 600. Is my photography really that bad? I mean, I have 600 people that added me for something… perhaps to laugh and secretly add my images to #reddit to be mocked by the masses? Although those thoughts did cross my mind, I’m pretty confident that’s not the case. And just to sure it up for you, I did a similar thing once I reached 1,000 followers with an added caveat. All someone had to do was share the post and for me to make it to 1,100 followers by midnight that same day. I believe I had over 50 something people add me, but not because of my post or giveway (this time it was a canvas print with no restriction on shipping). Not a single reshare. A few plus ones, and a comment from +Peter From about the picture I displayed with the post. That’s it. No reshares. No 12 billion reshares looking for a chance to own one of my prints on canvas.
Again, just because you’re in someone’s circles doesn’t mean they connect with you and drank your kool-aid. People want more. And I’m still learning this. Photographs are everywhere now days. You can’t just post a photo and have everyone begging for your next photo to be posted so they can buy it and hang it over their mantle.
You have to be creative. A great example of this is +Trey Ratcliff and his stuckincustoms.comwebsite. He knows how to make it work and he does it so well, he gives away his photography for personal use. You see what he did there? He started with a great eye, skillset, and photograph technique: #hdr , made it his own, and ran with it, albeit outside the box. Today he gets to enjoy photography and allow his #stuckincustoms business to support what he enjoys, what he loves.
So the moral of this probably too long to read post you ask? I, and those like me, need to relate better to those who choose to follow us if we are to make our livings behind the lens. We need to think outside the box and find out what really connects with those who happened to like a photograph they saw of ours (along with the 40 others they clicked through from other photographers). We need to be able to draw them in and keep them attentive to our wares and our love of the craft. They need to feel our excitement, and join in on our joy when that perfectly lit setting just so happens to compose itself on our camera’s sensor. Simply posting photographs just won’t cut it anymore… and as experience has taught me, I don’t think it ever did.
Over the course of this year, I’m going to be looking at implementing some changes. I’m going to be more open about my workflow, share some ideas, explain and make available some of my favorite presets… I’m going to try my hand at becoming more of a “person” on g+ and less of just a photo poster. Who knows how this year will go, but only time and commitment will tell 
So what will you do differently assuming that you drank the kool-aid I was serving up in this open letter?
